Something I Needed
by Extreme Light 9
Summary: In which Ford receives a gift from his great niece.
**Something I Needed**

 **A/N: Hey everyone. I've been going through a lot of stress lately so I decided to write some Mabel/Ford fluff.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**

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Mabel was humming softly to herself as made her way downstairs, on route for the kitchen to make herself a sandwich.

She paused in front of the doorway to the living room when she spotted Ford sleeping on the couch, snoring softly. Her great uncle usually slept in his own room so seeing him here surprised her.

Deciding not to dwell on it, Mabel shrugged and was just about to leave when a muffled sound caught her attention and she looked back to her sleeping uncle.

She watched as his face twisted into a grimace and he began thrashing in his sleep as if he was fighting against something.

Concerned, Mabel went over to his side and placed a hand on his knee.

"Grunkle Ford?" she said as she shook him lightly. "Grunkle Ford, wake up!"

Ford woke up with a start, his eyes darting around in confusion and panic before settling down on her. "M-Mabel? What happened?"

"You looked like you were having a nightmare so I woke you up." Mabel answered.

"Oh, sorry." He muttered sheepishly. Mabel noticed how exhausted her uncle looked. His hair was disheveled and he had dark rings under his eyes. This worried the preteen deeply.

"Grunkle Ford, have you been getting enough lately?" she asked in concern.

Ford blinked, taken aback by the question and rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. "Well, I've been trying, but sometimes I have these…..nightmares that keep up at night," seeing the look on her face he quickly tried to reassure her.

"But it's nothing you should be worried about, dear. I'll be fine." He said, giving her a light pat on the head. He then stood up and walked away.

Mabel frowned as she watched her grunkle leave the room. Whenever she had a nightmare or she felt too scared to fall asleep she'd always seek comfort from Dipper.

But Ford had no one and she doubted that he would go talk to Grunkle Stan after a nightmare. _There's gotta be a way for me to help Grunkle Ford with these nightmares._

Slowly an idea began forming in her mind. Wasting no time, the preteen hurried upstairs to the attic room.

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Ford let out a soft yawn as he tried to focus on the book he was reading, but his mind was numbed with exhaustion and the urge to fall asleep was getting harder and harder to ignore.

But he couldn't. Ford knew what would happen if he did. Sighing, he took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes.

"Hi, Grunkle Ford!"

Surprised, Stanford looked over from the book he was reading to his niece who smiling widely at him.

"Hello Mabel. Is there something you need?" asked Ford.

"Not really, I just wanted to give you this." she said as she placed a small box in his lap.

Confused, Ford opened the box and couldn't help smiling when saw what's inside it. It was a dark blue sweater with a picture of a golden six fingered hand on it. Ford smiled fondly as he held it in his hands.

"Do you liked it?"

Ford looked over to his niece. "It's lovely. Thank you Mabel." He stated and ruffled her hair affectionately. Mabel beamed proudly at the praise.

Ford then held out his new sweater before him to get a better look at it.

That's when he noticed something off about it. Ford blinked at the odd length of the neck. "Uhh…why did you make the neck so long?" asked Ford.

"Oh, you'll need that for Sweater Town."

Ford raised a brow in confusion. "Sweater Town?"

"Whenever I feel scared or upset I pull my sweater up like this." She demonstrated, pulling the neck of her sweater over her face. "It always helps me feel better and I thought it might help you too."

Ford sighed after hearing this. He should have known his niece would try to do something about his night terrors, but he doubted that this would really calm him down after a nightmare.

 _But Mabel worked so hard on this._ Ford thought as he dropped the sweater in his lap. His niece was only trying to help him and he didn't want to upset her. Besides, there was no harm in trying.

"Thanks for the gift Mabel. I'll put it on as soon as I can." He stated.

Mabel grinned. "You're welcome!"

"Well, it's getting late. You should go to bed now." He reminded her.

"Okay," Mabel said and just before she left the girl walked over and hugged him tightly. "Good night, Grunkle Ford. I hope you sleep well."

Ford was surprised by the gesture at first, but then relaxed in the embrace. "You too Mabel." He replied as she pulled away and headed towards the elevator.

Ford then took off his red sweater and put on the new blue one, feeling instantly snug. The sweater was soft and smelled of fresh pine. Smiling softly, Ford turned around to resume his work.

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It had happened again.

Ford woke up in cold sweat. His chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath. The nightmare was still fresh in his mind.

He hesitantly pulled the neck of his sweater halfway up his face and closed his eyes, feeling himself enveloped in the warmth of his sweater.

The familiar smell of pine began to waft into his nostrils and he took a deep breath, letting the soothing scent wash over him and calm fraying his nerves. Slowly, he could feel the fear and tension leave him.

After a few minutes of this, Ford finally felt content enough to go back to sleep again. He laid down on his bed and closed his eyes, a small smile forming on his lips.

 _Thanks, Mabel._

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 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed this. Please review!**


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